S. Korean telecom regulator OKs sale of iPhones

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SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's telecom regulator approved Wednesday
the sale of iPhones in the country, paving the way for Apple Inc. to make inroads
into a market dominated by domestic handset makers.
The Korea Communications Commission said its policymakers decided to permit local
mobile carriers to sell the worldwide hit and launch its service by exempting
Apple from the location-base service requirement, a stumbling block to its entry
into the country.
Currently, foreign cellphone makers should be registered as providers of the
location-base service, which enables mobile carriers to locate callers, before
being allowed to sell their handsets with such a service here.
"On behalf of Apple, local mobile carriers will be able to get government
permission to provide the service," said the commission in a statement.
South Korea's mobile carriers, including KT Corp., are legally registered as
location-base service providers in the country.
Apple has been in talks with KT, South Korea's No. 2 mobile service provider,
which was aiming to win the exclusive right to sell the phone on the local
market.
Bringing the iPhone to South Korea has proved a slow process as the South Korean
government earlier addressed concerns over the potential privacy violation of the
iPhone's location-base services such as "Maps" and "FindMyiPhone."
"iPhone's location-base services are based on new technologies that didn't exist
when South Korea's related regulations were legislated," said Hwang Cheol-jeung,
a senior official at the nation's telecom regulator.
"The commission seems to have concluded that infringements of privacy would only
be minimal, as the services are provided in a way that can not differentiate one
user from another."
However, mobile carriers will have to inform iPhone users of how their location
data will be used, disclosed and protected for each user to decide whether or not
to use the service or authorize disclosure.
With iPhone's entrance into the South Korean market, local manufacturers Samsung
Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., both major players in the global mobile
phone market, will be competing for local customers.
Research In Motion Ltd. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Inc. earlier this
year began selling their own versions of the smartphone in the country, but
failed to have much impact on the market.
Fierce competition is likely not only among the handset makers, but also among
mobile carriers over the iPhone launch.
As KT is expected to soon seal a deal with Apple, market leader SK Telecom Co.
fears that KT's exclusive sale of the iPhone, popular among younger tech-savvy
customers, may erode its market share. SK Telecom was earlier reported to be also
in negotiations with Apple.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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